Prohibitionists in Michigan have raised a lot of money to defeat legalization

We’re concerned about the legalization campaign in Michigan. Polls are tightening, and new campaign finance reports show that Project SAM and big corporate donors like the Dow Chemical Company and ITC Holdings Corp have recently poured nearly $1.4 million into the effort to defeat Proposal 1. The pro-legalization campaign was outraised during the last reporting period.

We’ve seen this before. In 2016, a blitz of donations from business allies of prohibitionists, including an opioid manufacturer, helped narrowly defeat the Arizona legalization initiative. We can’t let that happen this year in Michigan.

In order to gain support, the opposition is running a very dishonest campaign. Their TV ad claims that Prop 1 will allow edibles with “unlimited potency,” even though the initiative clearly states that the state government will craft regulations including a maximum THC level for marijuana-infused products. Furthermore, Project SAM is campaigning on the ground in Michigan trying to win over voters by claiming it supports decriminalization, which is yet another false claim.

If Prop 1 passes, Michigan will become the second-largest state in the country to legalize marijuana for adults, and the first in the Midwest. But if the initiative fails, Project SAM and their anti-legalization allies will claim victory and say that the legalization movement’s momentum is faltering. That could hinder our efforts to reform marijuana laws at the federal level.